Kerala Police receive Central award for handling cybercrime against women, children

Accolade presented by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the first foundation day celebrations of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre held in New Delhi on Tuesday

Kerala State Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb receiving the Union Home Ministry’s award for best performance in handling online crime against women and children from Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The Kerala Police have bagged the Union Home Ministry’s award for best performance in handling online crime against women and children.

The accolade was presented by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the first foundation day celebrations of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The State police force was represented by State Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb and Cyber Operations Superintendent of Police (SP) Hari Shankar.

The Cyber Division has made significant strides in the fight against cybercrime through its Cyber Fraud and Social Media wing.

Official sources point out that the police had successfully deactivated 27,680 bank accounts, 11,999 SIM cards, and 17,734 websites identified as fraudulent. Their efforts also led to the detection of 8,369 malicious social media profiles and 537 fake mobile applications, with legal action initiated against those responsible.

Seventeen cases had also been registered against rackets that recruited Indian nationals for online financial fraud operations from abroad. The police tracked 51 agents, leading to the arrest of 16 persons in such cases.

Operation P-Hunt, a major initiative to combat the collection and distribution of illicit images of children, had resulted in 395 cases being registered and 37 arrests. As many as 881 electronic devices were seized following 2,347 inspections under such drives.

The helpline 1930 meant to report online financial crimes received 23,748 complaints in 2023 alone. Of the ₹201 crore reported lost through fraud, ₹37 crore was successfully recovered. From the 27,723 complaints received until August this year, the police managed to recover ₹70 crore out of ₹514 crore lost.

The Kerala Police have also trained over a thousand police officers to enhance cybercrime detection. Special training programmes were conducted for 360 Sub-inspectors and inspectors in three phases. Besides, 24 Kerala police officers have been selected for a six-month Cyber Commando course conducted by the Central government.